Find out how popular the last name Carrington is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Carrington.

Carrington, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Carrington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carrington in America

Carrington is the 2706th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carrington surname appeared 13,320 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Carrington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carrington to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Carrington

The surname Carrington has its origins in England, first appearing in historical records during the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words 'cær' meaning rock or tor, and 'ing' meaning a meadow or enclosure, combined to form a place name meaning 'the enclosure by the rocks or rocky place'.

This surname is closely associated with the town of Carrington in Nottinghamshire, where it is thought to have originated as a territorial name for someone who lived near this location. The earliest known record of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mentions a William de Carrington.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village of Carrington is referred to as 'Cauringa'. This further supports the theory that the surname evolved from this place name over time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Carrington surname was Sir John Carrington, who lived from around 1240 to 1300. He was a prominent landowner and knight in Nottinghamshire during the reign of King Edward I.

Another notable figure was Thomas Carrington, born in 1551, who was an English politician and Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the surname gained prominence with Lord Carrington, also known as Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1675-1738), who was an English nobleman and politician. He served as a member of the House of Commons and held the title of Baron Carrington of Bulcot Lodge.

During the 19th century, Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington (1808-1886) was a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of New South Wales in Australia from 1855 to 1861.

Another notable figure was Dora Carrington (1893-1932), an English painter and decorative artist associated with the Bloomsbury Group, a collective of writers, artists and intellectuals in London.

Other historical references to the Carrington name include various places and landmarks, such as Carrington Castle in Midlothian, Scotland, and the town of Carrington in North Dakota, United States, which was named after Lord Carrington in the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carrington

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Carrington.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Carrington was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Carrington has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Carrington was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Carrington, please contact us.

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